Shooting locations is difficult, but considering how cleanly the flash backs fit together, they would have had to have had the entire season plotted so that the new stories each week reflected the footage they put in the can months earlier... However how easy is it to fake the island with sets and parks, when all the on site filming they ever needed was just Oliver running about through the jungle?

Since the show started, they are introducing non-super-powered versions of some characters (such as Laurel and Count Vertigo). Would audiences be willing to accept non-super-powered versions of Clark Kent, Diana, Hal Jordan, et al.?

Since the show started, they are introducing non-super-powered versions of some characters (such as Laurel and Count Vertigo). Would audiences be willing to accept non-super-powered versions of Clark Kent, Diana, Hal Jordan, et al.?

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What would be the point? Those characters don't work without their powers and the producers have pretty much said there are no powers in this world.

I think the closest we'll get to powers in this series are hi-tech gadgets that simulate powers. Like some kind of sonic emitter for Laurel to wear around her throat.

Yep, she didn't get the canary cry until she migrated to Earth 1 in the Silver Age. When they split the character in two because of aging issues, the original never had sonic powers and her daughter was born with them.

It might be my adulation of Susanna Thompson but isn't the most interesting plot line by far Oliver/Moira?

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To me, it's the island flashbacks.

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I'll along with that. What happened during those five years on the island molded Ollie into what he is now. There's a lot we haven't seen yet, a lot of hell that he hasn't endured yet. I'm hope the show continues just so we can find out what else happened to him after making his escape from the river.

And what's up with the Chinese Archer? I can't figure out yet what his real game is.

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Yeah, I wasn't real clear on whether he was working for the bad guys the whole time, or if they just turned him after they captured him?

My guess is the flashbacks on the island are being shot in groups. Maybe not all at once. But multiple episodes at a time.

For a number reasons. Mostly costs. Some of the actors in those scenes barely appear in each episode they are in. Plus the cost of having to set up the location shooting over and over again would be huge.

So we get Slade Wilson of the Australian secret service last night. It appears he is the one who is going to train Ollie. This makes more sense than random asian guy number 2. The story itself was ok as we have Ollie finally finding out about his mom. That Laurel sure can fight. Starling City really needs to put out flyers to attract a better class of low level goons. These guys cant beat up a girl.

I really liked this episode. Digg is still awesome. I loved the look Detective Lance gave when he realised that there was a leak in his department. I also liked how the bad guy counted how many arrows Arrow had.